Reconditioning old rims, but now another problem

thankyousam

Retro Newbie
Hi,

I've been doing up an old Pashley ladies shopper style bike. The guy I got it from seemed to think it was ex-Royal Mail, but I don't think it is. It has certainly been kitted out in a "post office style".

The frame and forks are being bead blasted and powder coated as I type, but it won't be repainted red. Everything seems structurally and mechanically sound. The only issue is with the rims.

They are 28 x 1 1/2 rims, which take a Fibrax 144 block on a stirrup brake. I believe they are the Westwood style rim. I've managed to source some new blocks, but I am a little concerned about the rims themselves. The spokes and hubs are fine, but the inside edge where the blocks push on to are rusted and what was once chrome now seems to have gone through to the base steel. I've tried some wire wool and wet & dry paper on it, but it does just take it back to the base metal - although TBH I'm not sure what else I expected to happen!. The surface remains very rough.

IMG_1892.JPG


Whatever I put on them is likely to rub away in use anyway. Does any one have any advice/experience on what to do with these, if only to make them presentable?
 
Its a common problem with westwood rims, the brakes wear through the chrome.

All depends on how much time and money you want to spend. Quick and on the cheap you could spray them with silver Hammerite smooth. Although as soon as the bike gets used though you will have the same problem.

The best way is to strip the wheels and replace the rims and spokes, if you can track down any good westwood rims with the right hole count. Possibly you could get them re-chromed but it will most likely be more expensive than finding new rims.
 
BITD post office bikes seemed to use vary strange sizes / components...the rumour was it prevented bits being nicked. Not sure if that was true though :)

Shaun
 
The rims on my Karma Triumph weren't painted but the braking surfaces were well rusted rough. I was hoping the brakes might smooth them back down but they just ground down the brake blocks. I took some 240 grit wet and dry paper and sanded the contact area back until it was smooth. Riding the bike maintains the surface because it's got a thin film of rubber on it. The rest of the rim is out of contact with the brakes, so you could just paint it again.
 
Post office bike have some strnage sizes - yes they do when one came in it had a dodgey headset (races cracked) and finding a replacement was impossible. I had to get one machined at a local engineering shop in the end. It even used 650B tyres.
 
Thanks for the comments. The frame, forks and other bits come back from the powder coater this afternoon, so looking forward to rebuilding it tomorrow. I've cleaned everything else up so it's all ready and waiting.

Looks like I'll have an afternoon with the 240 grit w&d paper to get the rims smoothed off, and a quick coat of paint to make it presentable for the first few rides!
 
The bike is back and I'm in the middle of putting it all back together. Unfortunately the powder coaters didn't do a very good job of taping the bottom bracket threads, and now I'm a bit stuck :(

The left side of the BB has this 4 holed threaded piece. I managed to fashion a fairly crude tool to tighten it up from a piece of wood and 4 nails, but now it's not tight enough as the spindle has a mm of play when the other side is done up as tight as it will go. This means the crank arm knocks against the stay.

It does just need one more turn, but I think the threads are clogged with the powder coating. And to top it off, I can't get it back off :roll:

Does a tool exist which will grip into these holes a bit better? The holes are on the corners of a rectangle measuring 1" x 1/2".

IMG_1962.JPG
 
BITD the tools we had came with two prongs to engage the closer of the two holes, even then the fit was usually pretty loose and we generally used one hole and jammed the other prong against the outside of the BB cup.

We had a big T bar tool for the fixed cup.

If there were problems with the cup being tight we just ran s tap through........

Shaun
 
Get the thread re tapped at a shop. A pin spanner may help in tightening it up but I have not seen a tool with that pattern. I would take the up to a machine shop and have a tool made up to fit properly. You may only use it a ouple of times but I think it would be worth it. Should only cost £20 or so.
 
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